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C is for Cookbooks, Favourites & Finds

Thank you to everyone who has been visiting my blog and commenting as a result of Vegan Mofo! I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying the theme (and I appreciate the suggestions for the more obscure letters of the alphabet – keep ‘em coming!)

My first vegan cookbook was How it All Vegan. I bought it on a whim, more than two years before I became vegan. I saw it at a used book store and thought “what the heck”. There were some yummy soup and side dish recipes that I enjoyed right away and had fun trying out something new.

Once I went gluten and dairy free I began to turn to vegan cookbooks because: a) I didn’t have to worry about any dairy in the recipes and b) Vegan cookbook authors seemed to be more cognizant of gluten free options By the time I had actually gone vegan I had acquired quite a few, so I was all good to go! I thought it would be fun to share some of the vegan cookbooks lining my shelves along with some of my favourite recipes from each.

Eat, Drink and Be Vegan – Still a favourite in our house with yummy goodies like cashew ginger tofu, broccoli-pepper stir fry and chickpea-zucchini-tomato stew

Veganomican – I can’t believe I haven’t done a proper review on Vcon. In all seriousness, it’s amazing. So much goodness to come out of that book including lentil-cauliflower curry, spaghetti squash mexicana, snobby joes, mexican millet – I could go on and on! I trust Isa and Terry so much and just run with their recipes and in return I’m rewarded with fabulous food.

La Dolce Vegan – After having such great luck with How it All Vegan, I had to pick up La Dolce Vegan when I saw it at the used bookstore awhile back. I’ve had no regrets!! I made one of my favourites for Lindsay last weekend

Lentil black bean salad (with Martha Stewart’s Portobello zucchini tacos) It’s such a simple, filling, delicious salad that I’ve made for a variety of folks who have all enjoyed it equally. Love, love LOVE this book!

Cooking Class recipes – Although not a cookbook (yet), I still make a ton of recipes from Meghan’s classes. We’re still in love with the lemon-lentil soup, lentil patties and veggie wraps and I don’t foresee that changing any time in the near future!

Jae Steele’s upcoming cookbook, Ripe Around Here – I’ve had the pleasure of being a recipe tester for this book and there has been a lot of awesomeness in my kitchen as a result. Recipes like pad thai, curried split pea soup, raw almond-date bars, and roasted ratatouille are going to make it worth your while to be lining up at your local bookstore when that cookbook comes out!

In honour of Vegan MoFo I picked up a couple of new cookbooks to try from the library

The Gluten Free Vegan and a well-loved copy of Vegan with a Vengeance. I was reading them on the streetcar the past two days like some people would read the latest from Oprah’s book club. Feeling inspired I made the Mexican quinoa salad from The Gluten Free Vegan.

I used red quinoa for a little something different and enjoyed it alongside a honey crisp apple and some mini lemon poppyseed muffins that I made from the Babycakes cookbook (finally!) It was such a satisfying lunch and definitely helped me to get through a BUSY Friday afternoon. I’m so excited to try more recipes out of all three books in the coming weeks and share the results with all of you!

There are more vegan cookbooks on my shelves and plenty more on my Amazon wishlist, but for the moment I’m really having fun working through the ones I have. Seeing that it’s fall, I’m looking forward to making more delicious soups, stews, curries and casseroles to keep me warm until spring!

What’s your all-time favourite vegan cookbook? Do you have any suggestions of things I should make from the cookbooks I already own?

How It All Vegan was my first vegan cookbook. I used that thing a lot. My favorite is the brown rice breakfast. The description doesn't really do it justice.

I think you'll love Vegan With a Vengeance. That was the first cookbook that ever got me passionate about food. It just really connected with me. Basic ingredients with a little exotic spice now and then and a really hands on approach.

i recently bought vegan bites: recipes for singles but i have not had time to look through it yet. i thought all the recipes would make 1-2 servings, but they all make 3-6 ... kind of a misleading title!